When two teenage girls are found dead in a wealthy Chicago suburb over one terrible weekend, school counselor Abby Rosso begins to suspect that her own son Benjamin was secretly involved in their lives and possibly their deaths. Abby doesn’t want to believe her son could hurt anyone, but she’s seen the warning signs before: two decades ago, her own brother was imprisoned for a violent crime when he was barely older than Benjamin is now. As Abby digs into the truth about what happened to her students, she’s forced to confront an unbearable question, has she been making excuses for her son for years?
I listened to this on audio and the narration was excellent. If you’re going to pick this one up, I’d recommend the audiobook. The narrator really brought the tension and the emotional weight of Abby’s internal battle to life.
What I appreciated most about this book is that it tackles something I haven’t seen many thrillers take on: the social dynamics of teenage boys, the pipeline from isolation to toxic masculinity, and how podcasters and online figures are ready and waiting to groom young men when they don’t have anyone else to turn to. It’s a topic that doesn’t get explored enough in fiction, and the thriller framework makes it accessible without being preachy. Thankfully Benjamin has Abby, a school counselor who knows what to look for, which makes the tension even sharper because she can see the signs but is battling the part of herself that wants to believe her kid is the exception.
There’s a lot of mental health information and counseling background woven throughout the story, and it all becomes important by the end. Where it lost half a star for me was the pacing. It’s just slightly too long. There are stretches in the middle where tighter editing would have kept the momentum going, and I found myself wishing it would move a little faster to get to the payoff I could feel building.
But here’s what stuck with me after I finished: this book made me think. Really think. As a mom to 3 toddlers (two boys and a girl) and as someone who cares deeply about raising good humans, this book hit differently than a typical thriller. It’s not just asking “did he do it?” It’s asking how boys are raised, what they’re taught they can get away with, and what happens when society fails them. I’m years away from the teenage stuff, but it made me reflect on how I want to build that open communication with my kids now. How I support them, how I keep the conversation going, how do I raise boys who are kind and thoughtful and girls who are strong and valued. We can start laying that foundation early, and I think books like this are a good reminder of why it matters.
3.5 stars. A unique, thought-provoking thriller that could have been tightened up but delivers something most books in this genre don’t even attempt. Worth your time, especially on audio.
AMAZON | GOODREADS | BOOKSHOP |★★★.5
What Boys Learn out now. Huge thank you to Soho Crime for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. If you liked this review, please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my Instagram @speakingof.books.
